The Backyard: Two Years and Counting
I’ve been pretty bad about posting videos documenting my progress on the house. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t been making progress – or not filming the work at hand. It’s just a bit time consuming to edit what is fundamentally boring for those not actually doing the work into something palatable. But this is a holiday weekend, so what better time than now to show off some of the progress made on the house – the backyard, in particular?
Last summer, I was more or less overwhelmed by the backyard. I was redoing a bedroom for my sister, trying to score new clients, and doing a bit of travel. So my work on the backyard was really just a desperate attempt to stay ahead of the weeds. This Spring, however, I jumped on the yard and turned the whole damn lot. A previous owner seemed to have a fetish for sinking large steel poles into the ground – just below surface level. Digging those bastards up was a real pleasure. There were cinder blocks, bottles, toys, bones (BBQ remnants, I’m guessing), and of course, the omnipresent weeds.
After two passes, I managed to get most of the debris up. The clearing also revealed a great deal of the brick patio. There’s only so much patio one needs in a small yard, so I pulled up the extra brick and constructed two makeshift planters. I’m not too thrilled with them, so after some consultation with my neighbor Kieth, I’m planning on repurposing the brick as a hearth in the corner of the patio nearest to the steps. That, however, is a task for another day.
The same said previous owner had also placed a row of Day Lillies parallel to the walkway. Over the years, the lilies had taken over, there fronds extending well into the walking path. After some procrastination, I moved them against the garage. You can see the changed position in the video. Amazingly, the lilies survived and bloomed right on schedule.
So at this point, I was starting to get a little shape to the yard. Another neighbor, Maurice, has a ridiculous garden, and is always giving away plants. Enter the primrose. The five massive primrose bushes you see in the video started as 2 inch seedlings. He also gave me the red-bloomed plant seen at the end of the video, but I’ll be damned if I can remember it’s name.
With the primrose as a base, I set about to add a good number of perenials, as well as some ground cover. My original plan included a much larger garden space, but after fighting the weeds for the first few weeks of June, I realized that grass was in order, as well. So, I set 10 gladiola bulbs (now in bloom, and not pictured) two “elephant ears” and a smattering of Home Depot purchased perennials, and a “Little Gem” magnolia tree.
I admit, it’s no english garden, as yet. But I am amazaded at the difference two months can make. As I settle into the new job (Q Industries), and get my training schedule sorted (Chicago Marathon) I’ll drop in a few more flowering plants, and do a little landscaping. I’m really looking forward to next Spring, though. The groundwork has, quite literally, been laid for a kick-ass garden.